Plus Net keeps dropping broadband connection in the evening

[The Phantom]

Hi,

we are locked into a 5 years broadband contract with PlusNet (didn't know that when signing up for it, only were told when we tried to change to another supplier and they refused to issue us with our MAC code unless we paid them X amount..)

Anyway, as we were more or less blackmailed into staying, we dropped the issue of changing and stayed

(apparently it was all in the small print when signing up, we never noticed it, so our fault )

Anyway, for about one month now, our connection gets dropped in the evening approx every 5 to 20 minutes, even when surfing (not when idle), meaning we have to shut down the router and re-start everything to reconnect

Can we serve them with a contractual default notice and a warning that if they do not rectify this we consider the contract terminated by them ?

I know the rules have changed and they now have to issue you with your Mac code upon request, but if they sued us for the termination charge, would we have a chance defending it based on their continuous non performance ?

We have written to their technical online help but never received a reply so far regarding the disconnection problem:-x

Any experience with something like this anybody ?

[Stornoway]

I havent had this problem with them although whenever we use the home phone (its a standard land line through BT) then we seem to get disconnected. Its a simple matter of reconnecting though to get back online (30 secs).

 

I've used plusnet for years and found the service good but its expensive if you go over your monthly download allowance.

[The Phantom]

Yes, we have a standard BT landline and get disconnected every 5 to 20 minutes.

It may be simple to reconnect, but this is beside the point, as this is annoying if you have to do it between three and twelve times an hour

There is nothing in our contract to say this is part of the deal

It's like buying a new car, it cutting out and stalling on you between three and 12 times an hour whilst driving and the dealer then saying, well, it is not difficult to re-start it, is it ?

[ukaviator]

Is your line connected via a telegraph pole, or underground phone?.

 

The reason i ask is that i have Sky Broadband, and found that my internet loss was due to water inside the junction box on the telegraph pole outside. Engineer cleaned and dryed out the external box, and it's been great ever since.

[Conniff]

Hi,

Can we serve them with a contractual default notice and a warning that if they do not rectify this we consider the contract terminated by them ?

 

I think that would be an excellent idea. A lot of people forget that contracts are two way and that you both must abide by it.

[The Phantom]

Is your line connected via a telegraph pole, or underground phone?.

 

The reason i ask is that i have Sky Broadband, and found that my internet loss was due to water inside the junction box on the telegraph pole outside. Engineer cleaned and dryed out the external box, and it's been great ever since.

 

Good point, it is coming in via the pole here, too

But as PlusNet is not reacting to our enquiries, they obviously can't be bothered with it in any case

I have been thinking of keeping a diary to show how often it happens for evidential purposes and then serve them with a default notice

[The Phantom]

I think that would be an excellent idea. A lot of people forget that contracts are two way and that you both must abide by it.

Absolutely, they are always quick enough to send us nasty grams, don't they ?

[Guest peed orf]

It may be worth phoning BT and asking them to increase the signal gain, every house is issued with a certain amount of signal, this usually allows for 4 items, so if you have a phone thats 1, an upstairs phone, thats 1, interactive digital t.v counts as 2, and the modem as 1, and if the modem has Voip thats another 1, if you are a high volume user, phone bt, and get them to increase the signal, I did this a couple of years ago after switching from dial up, and the cut off's on broadband have stopped.

[MrShed]

IMO, this would not be grounds for cancellation. You do not have an SLA(service level agreement) with them, or at least I would be amazed if you do. Therefore, you could only cancel on persistant non providance of the product. I doubt you can argue in court that the product hasnt been provided - it just requires a user to perform a task every so often to provide it.

 

Just my tuppence worth.

 

As for the fault itself, if it is in the evenings, almost certainly contention on the line. Are you a fair distance from the exchange?

[installspark]

@ The Phantom,

 

Have you tried raising a fault ticket with Plus Net and gone through all the fault finding steps? Have you raised this issue with them in their forums??

 

Disconnects can be similar to looking for needles in a haystack as they could be caused by a whole host of different factors including but not limited to:

 

Street lighting coming on - EMI/RF interference

Faulty microfilter

Unfiltered phone device

Exchange fault

Router/modem fault

Line fault

 

As for alleged breach of contract, there is none in this situation. Plus Net, and virtually all other ISP's do not have a Service Level Agreement for their customers, it is an "as is" service. Due to the technical nature of the product is cannot be guaranteed to be fault free. You will also find that the ISP's themselves also have no SLA with BT Openreach (the main provider) for the same reason. It is possible to get a broadband connection with a SLA but it would be financially unviable for most customers.

[The Phantom]

@ The Phantom,

 

Have you tried raising a fault ticket with Plus Net and gone through all the fault finding steps? Have you raised this issue with them in their forums??

 

Contacted them about the problem in writing through their website, they didn't find it necessary to reply

 

Disconnects can be similar to looking for needles in a haystack as they could be caused by a whole host of different factors including but not limited to:

 

Street lighting coming on - EMI/RF interference

Faulty microfilter

Unfiltered phone device

Exchange fault

Router/modem fault

Line fault

That may be as it is but it is not up to me to find and rectify it. I am paying for a service they are not providing, (or providing only with continuous interruptions) and don't find it necessary to respond to enquiries.

I am now keeping a log of every disconnect

 

As for alleged breach of contract, there is none in this situation. Plus Net, and virtually all other ISP's do not have a Service Level Agreement for their customers, it is an "as is" service. Due to the technical nature of the product is cannot be guaranteed to be fault free. You will also find that the ISP's themselves also have no SLA with BT Openreach (the main provider) for the same reason. It is possible to get a broadband connection with a SLA but it would be financially unviable for most customers.

It is also financially unviable for me to pay them for something they do not provide. Also we are not talking about a one-off fault that occurs and then is fixed and goes away. It is constant to an unacceptable level. So that to me is a breach of contract as much as it would be if they didn't provide it at all despite taking my payment.

It is of course possible that I cannot serve them a default notice, but surely at some point I can consider this termination of contract due to non performance8-)

[installspark]

Did you asctually raise a fault ticket through here?

 

https://faults.plus.net/

 

 

Have you posted about your disconnection problem in the community support forum here:

 

Forum - Index

 

You should find that there will be plenty of people able to help, including senior members of staff

[Psycho Bob :o)]

Sorry to sound spiteful, but if you don't go through the fault finding procedure ( much of which can only be done from the customers end of the line ) then Plusnet would be unable to help solve the problem.

 

Many times, a disconnect problem is down to the quality of the line between customer and the local BT exchange.

 

You'd first need to see what rate you're connected at, what your line CAN support ( without connection drops ) then the BT equipment would need to adjust the bras line profile to match your best constant connection rate, to help reduce/eradicate line drops.

 

You need your Line SNR data too.

 

Bite your lip, and go through the Plusnet fault finding procedure like any other mortal customer.

 

As for the 5 year tie-in... which 'product' are you on ???

[The Phantom]

fault finding procedure

 

What plusnet fault finding procedure ? They don't even reply to any messages, their customer service doesn't exist.

We still get disconnected at regular intervals, albeit not so frequent as it used to be.

 

We have got broadband with plusnet and didn't even know we were tied in for FIVE years, as nobody told us upfront when we signed up. We only found out when we tried to cancel and asked for out MAC number. They refused to supply it unless we paid them £60.- or so to terminate the contract. Apparently it was in the small print. They supplied us with a link to some clause that was apparently part of the contract when we signed up.

I would not recommend them and we will change as soon as our FIVE years are up and they will let us have the MAC code. (They refuse to supply it unless we pay the cancellation charge)

[locutus]

They cannot refuse to supply it.

 

here, have a read

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/broadband-other-internet-issues/111111-having-difficulty-changing-your.html

[Psycho Bob :o)]

yes i understand you have Boroadband with Plusnet, but WHICH PRODUCT of theirs are you signed up to?

i.e. Broadband Your Way Option 1, 2 or 3

Broadband P.A.Y.G ( various tariffs and download limits )

Broadband Pro

Broadband for he gamer, light user, business package, home lite

etc etc etc...

 

???

 

If you look in the Plusnet help and support section ( log in to PlusNet  |  Home & Business Broadband Internet Access & Phone Services UK ) you'll find a step by step procedure to follow.

[The Phantom]

They cannot refuse to supply it.

 

here, have a read

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/broadband-other-internet-issues/111111-having-difficulty-changing-your.html

 

I know - I have read this before.

But

A1.12 Where the Communications Provider is unable to, or refuses to, provide a MAC to the

End-User, the Communications Provider shall provide the End-User with a clear explanation

of why the MAC has not been provided.

 

They have given us a clear explanation why they refuse : they want money from us before they will comply.

 

[Conniff]

Did you get a laptop or PC free of charge? that is the usual reason for having such a long contract.

 

Did you sign up on line and if so, did you get a contract to sign and send back and did it include this 5 year term?

 

I cannot see any terms and conditions on their website.

 

The contract lengths showing on the broadband page is only for 1 month.

[The Phantom]

yes i understand you have Boroadband with Plusnet, but WHICH PRODUCT of theirs are you signed up to?

i.e. Broadband Your Way Option 1, 2 or 3

Broadband P.A.Y.G ( various tariffs and download limits )

Broadband Pro

Broadband for he gamer, light user, business package, home lite

etc etc etc...

 

???

 

If you look in the Plusnet help and support section ( log in to PlusNet *|* Home & Business Broadband Internet Access & Phone Services UK ) you'll find a step by step procedure to follow.

 

I am not aware of a specific 'product' as my other half signed up for it a few years back. It is the one that costs 14.99 / month and carries a £60.- termination / exit penalty if you want to leave before your five year sentence is up

[The Phantom]

Did you get a laptop or PC free of charge? that is the usual reason for having such a long contract.

 

Nope. Nothing of that kind.

Free PC - we wish ... LOL

 

Did you sign up on line and if so, did you get a contract to sign and send back and did it include this 5 year term?

 

As far as I can remember (and I need to check this with my other half) it was done online. (Click here if you agree type of thing)

 

I cannot see any terms and conditions on their website.

 

No, neither could we at the time. But when we queried it, they supplied an online link to a clause that was allegedly part of the small print and it states it in there

 

The contract lengths showing on the broadband page is only for 1 month.

 

Yes, that is probably for their latest products. We have by now served about half of our 5 year sentence if I remember correctly, so it was a while ago..

[The Phantom]

Oh my...I just realized my initial opening post is almost a year old now....

It doesn't seem like that long ago ....geeee

[locutus]

I know - I have read this before.

But

A1.12 Where the Communications Provider is unable to, or refuses to, provide a MAC to the

End-User, the Communications Provider shall provide the End-User with a clear explanation

of why the MAC has not been provided.

 

They have given us a clear explanation why they refuse : they want money from us before they will comply.

 

 

This means that broadband service providers who are losing a customer will be

required to provide MACs on request in most cases. They will not be able to withhold

MACs where the customer owes them money (“debt blocking”) or charge for MACs.

At the same time, however, customers need to make themselves aware of their

responsibilities under the contract that they have with their broadband provider –

which may for example require them to pay an early termination charge if they wish

to leave their contract before the agreed date.

read the full article here :- http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/migration/statement/statement.pdf

[Highchiefolaf]

As per the previous post, Plusnet MUST supply a MAC. They cannot use monetary reasons as a reason to refuse to supply. They would have to chase you for the money after you have left them.

 

The only way they can't supply a MAC is if the backend systems physically refuse to allow them. I work for a UK ISP and this is such a rare occurance for that to happen. Bare in mind Plusnet are owned by the BT Group, so they would be able to contact the people to rectify this.

 

My advice would be to simply ask them for a MAC if you do wish to leave them - if they refuse, start an OFFCOM complaint. They are devolved to the ISP very quickly, and usually (Well in our case anyway) our dealt with Straight away as a matter of urgency.

 

How they can justify a 5 year contract is beyond me - The longest I have seen is 24 months, and that came with a free laptop!!

[locutus]

How they can justify a 5 year contract is beyond me - The longest I have seen is 24 months, and that came with a free laptop!!

 

I think that it's more the connection fee of £40 (that all ISP's using a repackaged BT broadband have to pay) they'll waive this if you're with them for 5+ years. I think they're trying to pull a fast one saying you cannot disconnect within the 5 years.

[Highchiefolaf]

I just done a bit of digging around on Google - It was a deferred charge that Plusnet would (not sure if they still do now) charge on a falling scale over 5 years. The amount you would have to pay back would decrease by 20% for every year you stayed a customer.

 

As rightly stated, this is to cover the connection charge over just over £40 quid that BTWholesale charge, and for the CPE too.